American Fighter
Action movie with MMA violence, drinking, racial slurs.
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Based on 1 review
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American Fighter
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this movie.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that American Fighter is a 2019 action movie in which a young Iranian American in 1981 enters the world of underground fighting in order to rescue his dying mother from Iran. A rival wrestler calls lead character Ali every racist Arab slur in the book, including "sand ‘N' word." A man is shot and killed at point-blank range outside of an airplane by terrorists. In a later scene, the lead character steals a rifle out of truck by smashing out the window, then goes to find the person he wants to kill, but is stopped by another character who puts the rifle to his forehead and tells Ali to pull the trigger. Overall, you can expect a lot of MMA-style fighting -- with punches, kicks, wrestling, and lots of blood and bruising. Lead character shown getting drunk on whiskey, drunk back in his dorm room, then hungover the next day. One of the secondary characters is an alcoholic, shown drinking out of flasks, and being drunk throughout. Talk of a drunk driving accident. Profanity often used, including "a--hole," "bulls--t," "s--t," "p---y," "bastard," "hell." Cigarette smoking.
Community Reviews
Pretty good movie
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What's the Story?
In AMERICAN FIGHTER, the year is 1981, and Ali has just started college at Northeast California University. He's an Iranian American whose parents are trying to get out of Iran, but while they're on a plane bound for America, terrorists board the plane, take Ali's father off the plane, and then kill him. Ali's mother remains stuck in Tehran, deathly ill from cancer. Ali finds a man who can help get his mother out of Iran, but the price to do so is considerably more than Ali can afford, even after he sells his muscle car and other prized possessions. His roommate Ryan, after watching Ali punch out a racist rival at wrestling practice, suggests that Ali gets into the world of underground fighting as a way to make the money. Ryan takes Ali to an abandoned warehouse where the fighting takes place, and introduces him to McClellen (Tommy Flanagan), the promoter. After an unpleasant introduction, Ali soon proves how strong of a fighter he is, and soon starts raising the money he needs to get his mom out of Tehran. McClellen seems to like Ali, giving him the nickname "The Young Lion," and then offers to give Ali his shot at the big time by taking on Bas, one of the very best fighters in this league, for all the money he has made so far. However, Duke (Sean Patrick Flanery), the alcoholic trainer who tries to give Ali advice after the matches, warns Ali not to do it, as he doesn't have the fighting chops to win. Ali has become too cocky to heed Duke's advice, and Bas handily defeats him, leaving Ali back where he started, and feeling used and ripped off by McClellen. Ali soon flies into a drunken rage and has plans of killing McClellen, but Duke stops him, and offers to teach him everything he knows as a former champion underground fighter. He also sets up a rematch of Ali versus Duke. Now, Ali must decide if he can put his ego and check, listen to Duke, and train as hard as he can to try and win back the money he has earned, and get his mother out of Iran.
Is It Any Good?
The cheesy action movie cliches don't quite prevent this from being an enjoyable action movie. American Fighter is the story of a young Iranian American named Ali in 1981 who enters the world of underground fighting in order to rescue his dying mother from Iran. This central story creates enough sympathy and willingness to root for Ali that it overcomes the movie's lesser qualities. Among these lesser qualities are character types we've seen so many times before, such as the unscrupulous promoter, and the seemingly washed-up drunk fighter who still has a gift for teaching younger fighters, no matter how much the booze and the beatings have taken their toll on his brain and body. There are also the expected montage scenes of Ali kicking butt before his own butt gets kicked, and the "comeback trail" montage with Ali training hard and learning new ways to fight that were previously outside of his wheelhouse.
But this kind of cheese is to be expected in movies such as these, and Tommy Flanagan brings the expected Scottish panache (read: a brogue and whiskey) to the role of McClellen, the unscrupulous promoter, and Sean Patrick Flanery holds his own as the washed-up drunken trainer. As Ali, George Kosturos has just enough acting ability to balance the emotional range of what's at stake for this character as he both tries to rescue his mother and date a nice girl in college. This movie isn't going to win any awards, but for an action movie with "scrappy underdog"/comeback kid" elements, it's pretty good.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the violence in American Fighter. How much of it seemed necessary to the story, and where did it seem gratuitous?
How accurately do you think the movie reflected the realities of Iran in 1981 and the problems Iranian immigrants faced when trying to get loved ones out of the country?
How does this compare to other "scrappy underdog" movies? Why is there such a tremendous appeal for these kinds of movies?
Movie Details
- In theaters: May 27, 2019
- On DVD or streaming: May 21, 2021
- Cast: George Kosturos, Sean Patrick Flanery, Tommy Flanagan
- Director: Shaun Paul Piccinino
- Studio: Lionsgate
- Genre: Action/Adventure
- Topics: Sports and Martial Arts
- Run time: 98 minutes
- MPAA rating: R
- MPAA explanation: Violence
- Last updated: February 28, 2023
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